O'Odham Creation & Related Events: As Told to Ruth Benedict in 1927, In Prose, Oratory, and Song - Couverture souple

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0816534152 ISBN 13 : 9780816534159

Editeur : University of Arizona Press, 2016

Synopsis

The origin stories of the O'odham (Pima) Indians of Arizona are renowned for their beauty and complexity but have been collected in only a handful of books. This volume--the third full O'odham telling of ancientness to appear in print--brings together dozens of stories collected in 1927 by anthropologist Ruth Benedict during her only visit to the Pimas. Never before published, they helped inspire Benedict to write her groundbreaking book Patterns of Culture.

The Pimas represented a way of life that Benedict at first called "Dionysian" after hearing the stories, narratives, songs, and oratory collected from various tellers during her three-month stay. The oral literature concerns the creation of the world and its transformations over time, the creation of the O'odham people, and other cultural traditions. Featuring a pair of man-gods, a female monster born of woman, and a conquest of Pimas by Pimas, they serve to mark the O'odham as a people distinct from their neighbors near and far.

The present volume contains more stories than any other source of Pima tales, plus more of the songs and orations that accompanied a telling. It includes "The Rafter," a host of ancillary stories, numerous Coyote tales, and additional speeches tied to the narratives of ancientness. One long story, "The Feud," found only in this collection, shows similarities to the Maya Popol Vuh.

Donald Bahr, a preeminent authority on the O'odham, has not only clarified the text but has also written an introduction that provides the background to the collection and analyzes Benedict's probable reasons for never having published it. He has also included a previously unpublished text by Benedict, "Figures of Speech among the Pima." O'odham Creation and Related Events represents an invaluable sourcebook of a people's oral literature as well as a tribute to a singular scholar's dedication and vision.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Anthropologist Donald M. Bahr has studied the Tohono O'odham extensively.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: University of Arizona Press
• Date d'édition: 2016
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0816534152
• ISBN 13: 9780816534159
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 267
• Éditeur: Bahr Donald
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: Mare Nostrum Group B.V.; gpsr@mare-nostrum.co.uk; ; Doelen 72; Breda; 4831 GR; Pays-Bas